The small blade is marked “Waterville Company Waterbury.” Located in Waterbury, Connecticut on the north side of town in a section known as Waterville. The original firm was founded in 1843, went bankrupt, changed hands several times, and finally in 1847, was taken over by the firm of Ives, Kendrick & Company.
Green Kendrick was president, and it was incorporated as the Waterville Manufacturing Company, with capital of $50,000. They started out with fifty workers, all of which were from Sheffield, England. Waterville grew steadily until 1852, when the company decided to cut wages. The workers went on strike, and many left the area never to return. The company then went to the state legislature and had a private act passed which allowed them to change the nature of their business. The strike was finally settled, but frequent strikes caused the factory to close for good in 1855. One of the workers in the plant, B.H. Morse, took over the pocket knife portion of the business.
(Featured image) Small coined-brass handled single blade jack, the handle marked “Waterville Manufs Waterbury”.
c 1847-1855